Despite Everything
by lostinthemoonlight
Summary: ONESHOT! Basically the way i wanted season three to end. Takes place during episode: 3.23 Those are strings, Pinocchio. Please R&R.


**A/N: **Ok, well this is basically the way I wanted season three to end. I must admit though that it may be a little cheesy and it may consist of quite a bit of dialogue exchanged between Rory and Jess…especially our beloved Chilton Graduate. Ok well, I hope you enjoy this oneshot, and please leave some love when your finished reading.

**Disclaimer:** I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I must admit I do not own this amazing television series.

Despite everything 

Rory's name was being called up, so she could make her speech as valedictorian. She took a long deep breath and went up to the stage. She stood behind the podium and looked around at all the people surrounding her. Her eyes locked with her mothers for a moment and Lorelai gave her a reassuring smile. Rory inhaled one more time, and then began her speech.

"Headmaster Charleston, faculty members, fellow students, family and friends, welcome. We never thought this day would come. We prayed for its quick delivery, crossed days off our calendars, counted hours, minutes, and seconds, and now that it's here, I'm sorry it is because it means leaving friends who inspire me and teachers who have been my mentors - so many people who have shaped my life and my fellow students' lives impermeably and forever. I live in two worlds. One is a world of books. I've been a resident of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down Swann's Way. It's a rewarding world, but my second one is by far superior. My second one is populated with characters slightly less eccentric but supremely real, made of flesh and bone, full of love, who are my ultimate inspiration for everything. Richard and Emily Gilmore are kind, decent, unfailingly generous people. They are my twin pillars without whom, I could not stand. I am proud to be their grandchild." Rory looked at them and shot them a smile. Richard winked at her and Emily just waved from her seat. After the silent exchange Rory continued. "But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life's blood, Lorelai Gilmore. My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Welty to Patti Smith. As she guided me through these incredible eighteen years, I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her. Thank you, Mom. You are my guidepost for everything." She looked at Lorelai as both she and her mother let a few tears slip. After another exchange Rory smiled at Luke, Sookie, Jackson, Emily, Richard, and her mother one more time then exited the stage.

After all the other students, whom of which were also asked to make a speech, were done the headmaster started calling up names, in order for them to get their diploma's.

"Allegra Grace Fass" he called out. "Paris Eustace Gellar. Congratulations, Paris."

"No hard feelings." Paris reassured.

"Okay." Headmaster Charleston replied with a slight nod of head. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

"This is it." Lorelai said with a squeaky voice.

"She looks so solemn." Emily said.

"Like a Gilmore." Richard countered.

Rory walked up the stage and received her diploma. She shook the headmasters hand.

"Congratulations, Rory."

"Thank you, Headmaster_." _Rory said, yet another smile on her face.

As Rory walked across the stage, she and Lorelai made faces at each other. Emily looked at Lorelai bewildered.

"Lorelai really." Emily snapped.

Lorelai sniffed. "I taught her everything I know."

"Mom! I did it! I graduated! I am a graduate, I finally did it!"

"I know kiddo, I'm so proud of you!" Lorelai said and hugged her tightly.

Rory released herself from Lorelai's firm grasp. "How was my speech?"

"Magnificent, fantastic, formidable, amazing, great. It was…let's just say it made Luke cry."

"Luke? Stone cold Luke?"

"That's the one."

"Luke you big softy." Rory directed towards Luke.

"I will never live this down." He mumbled and walked away.

Suddenly Emily and Richard appeared and Rory hugged them both.

"Well, I think it might be time to present Rory with her graduation gift." Richard declared.

"Oh, you guys didn't have to get me anything." Rory said trying to hide her excitement.

"Nonsense." Emily retorted.

"Uh, this one wouldn't fit in an envelope, so follow me please." Richard lead everyone to the parking lot.

"Rory, there is your gift. It's the one with the bow."

"Um, Grandpa." Rory said pointing. "Everything has a bow."

"Richard."

"Oh dear God. It was the only one here when I drove it up."

"Well, you should have put a more distinctive bow."

"How was I supposed to know everyone in Chilton was getting a car."

"You could have only assumed that—"

"I can't believe you guys got me a car! I love you!" Rory cried hugging them firmly. "Which one is it?"

"It's a little Prius. It's safe, it gets great gas mileage." Richard explained.

"And it's just like the one Leonardo DiCaprio drives." Emily added.

"I swear you guys are the best ever!" Rory said and hugged them again.

"Rory, one more thing. You mustn't forget—"

"I know, I will call insurance the second I get home. Thank you!"

"Your welcome." They both said in unison. "Ok well, we better head home. Thank for your speech and have a good time in Europe you two."

"And no sleeping on a bench." Emily ordered and with that they were off.

"Bye." Lorelai and Rory both waved.

"Ok, so what on the agenda for today?" Lorelai asked.

"Well I was thinking we could—"

"Gilmore!" Paris exclaimed, running toward Rory.

"Hey Paris, congrats." Rory said, while hugging her friend.

"Yeah you to." Paris said sadly. "We can't talk long, Nanny cooked dinner and she odesnt want it to get to cold. She makes a mean farturas you know."

"Well, I hope you enjoy it." Rory sighed. "You know, it weird how we can actually have this conversation without you yelling at me. I really hated you."

"Yeah I hated you to. Huh. I guess some things change."

"Yeah. Well goodbye Paris, see you at Yale." Rory said as they hugged again.

"Bye, and have fun in Europe."

"Sure will." Rory waved and walked back to Lorelai. "Sorry 'bout that. Paris and I were just saying our 'goodbyes'."

"It's fine. So where were we?"

"Um… O, right. Well I was just saying that today we could just—" Rory gets cut off by the sudden wringing of her cell phone. "Sorry, mom. Just a sec." "Hello? Hello?" Rory says into the phone. "Look mom, I'll be right back." Rory says and takes the phone call into the school.

"Jess, is that you? Jess, I'm pretty sure it's you and I'm pretty sure you've been calling and not saying anything but wanna say something. Hello? You're not going to talk? Fine, I'll talk. You didn't handle things right at all. You could've talked to me. You could've told me that you were having trouble in school and weren't going to graduate, and that your dad had been there, but you didn't. And you ended up not taking me to my prom and not coming to my graduation and leaving again without saying goodbye again, and that's fine, I get it, but that's it for me. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to Yale and I'm moving on. And I'm not going to pine. I hope you didn't think I was going to pine, okay? I think…I think I may have loved you, but I just need to let it go. So, that's it, I guess. Um, I hope you're good. I want you to be good, and, um, okay, so, goodbye. That word sounds really lame and stupid right now, but there it is—"

"No." Jess says for the first time, since his phone calls.

"What? Jess?" Rory asked skeptically, he wasn't supposed to talk, she was just supposed to finish this speech and break up with him just like she had planned. Now she was never going to be able to do it. His voice just made her week in the knees, so she sat down on a nearby chair leaning against the wall.

"I said no." Jess repeated, his voice seemed to echo through the hallways, ironically.

"Why?" Rory asked, but she didn't get an answer. Soon enough she heard the dial tone and sighed. How come he didn't let her continue, and what the hell did 'no' mean? She got up and turned around to head out of the school, when she saw him standing right there, his hands stuffed into his leather jacket pocket casually. Her breath got caught in her throat preventing her from talking, so instead she just looked at him, eyes wide of surprise.

He walked up to her until he was only about ten feet away. He took one more step and she stepped back, she didn't want to talk to him. He continued, hoping she would just give up and stand still. But her stubbornness kept her going.

Finally after being able to digest what was going on, Rory got her voice back and she managed to chock out some words. "Jess, what are you doing here?" He didn't answer; instead he just kept walking forward towards her. "Stop! Stop! Your not supposed to be here. Your not allowed being here. Stop!" Rory yelled, but he just kept going. "Jess!" she shrieked, and he finally stopped, only two feet away. She calmed down and repeated her first question. "What are you doing here." She said bitterly.

"I can't let you go." He mumbled, but it was very comprehendible.

"What?"

"After what happened at Kyle's party. It isn't fair for us to end this way." He elaborated. It was actually kind of hard for him; cause the whole 'being honest' thing never really worked out for him. He had never been straight up with anyone.

"It's to late, what's done is done." She replied, the bitterness in her voice remaining. "You messed up. You yelled at me, and you hurt me running away again. You ran and didn't even bother to tell me. You had the perfect opportunity, I was sitting right next to you on the bus and you just pretended like nothing was happening. How cold does one have to be to do that? You broke my heart, and what hurt most was that both mom and Luke had to tell me. Not you." She sniffled a few tears, but she wouldn't let them fall. Not for him. "You didn't say goodbye." She said through tears. She couldn't help it anymore. He hurt her, and she couldn't deny it. It was killing her inside and she couldn't suppress the tears no matter how hard she tried.

"Rory…"

"No, Jess. What else do you have to say for yourself? You were a jerk and you left. I was there for you all along and you ran despite it. I blamed myself for your departure and I still do. I don't know what I did wrong, but…forget it! I can't believe I'm crying over you. You…" she breathed in and out quickly, her tears kept falling. It was her graduation and she was crying over him. "You…didn't even say goodbye." This time she burst and fell to the ground. How could he have hurt her so much?

Jess looked at her falling apart and felt his heart shatter. He walked up to her quietly and knelt down beside her. "I wasn't good for you, you deserved someone better, someone who wasn't a drop out, someone who could actually take you to your prom. I couldn't do any of that, because I failed you, I failed Luke. I couldn't just stand around here being an idiot." He whispered.

Meanwhile Lorelai was looking around fro Rory. she had been gone for about ten minutes and it started to worry her. She walked down the school halls and turned right. What she saw next, she wouldn't have believed it had been told. Jess and Rory were both on the ground. Rory was crying and Jess was kneeling right in front of her. Lorelai wanted to go over there and tear that boy limb from limb, but she waited for them to finish. She didn't want to cause a racquet. She walked back and hid behind the corner and listened to what was going on.

She kept crying, she heard everything he said, but kept crying. After a while she calmed down a bit and looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot. "Just go. You have no business here anymore." She looked down for a second, hoping that when she would look up he would be gone. He hadn't budged; he was still there, in the exact same position, looking at her intently. She nodded her head furiously. "I had so many daydreams and pictures stuck in my head about how today was going to be. I had my speech rehearsed, my robe, my hat, my dress, and I even knew what underwear I was going to put on. Funny thing is, I never expected myself to be here, in the middle on the school halls crying over you, let alone have you here looking at me like nothing happened at all. All you can tell me is that you failed. So what? You think I wouldn't love you anymore if you failed? Did you think that if you didn't take me to my prom I would never talk to you? Hey. Sure I would be upset, but I would get over it. You were special to me and that was all that counted. You blew it. And I don't think anything you could come up with right now can fix that. Try. But I am almost certain you will not succeed." She said bittersweet.

He took a deep breath and locked eyes with her. He searched her for a moment, and all he could find was curiosity. No love, no hatred, no anger, no sadness, no happiness. Nothing. Finally he gave up looking and stood up. He took her hand, and she tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her. He pulled her up and sighed. "I love you." He said gazing into her eyes deeply. Immediately they changed, there was no more curiosity left, but only an unknown feeling he could not identify for the first time.

Finally she pulled her hand away and stepped back. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" She exclaimed. "This is not supposed to happen. You can't say that!" She yelled. "It's not fair that way." She breathed heavily. "You…" she began to cry again, but not as hard as last time. "You know that I can't take it. You know that I will fall into your arms again. Jess!" She cried. "I'm crying over you again! This is the umpteenth time! It's not fair. You don't deserve this! You don't deserve to have me. But…I…" She cried a little then continued. "I can't stop loving you. Everything about you and it's not fair. You treated me like dirt. You left, everyone hates you, my mother disapproves of you, and she warned me. And despite what my bestfriend told me, I am here falling for you again and again. I just love everything about you and I don't know why!" she looked up at him. "You being the rebel without a cause, causing trouble everywhere, disrupting our peaceful town with your hoodlum antics. Being monosyllabic with everyone and all of your smart-ass answers. Getting mad easily, leaving at the first sign of trouble. That smirk that wants to make everyone kill you, the way you talk, and how the left side of your lip is crooked when you yell. Dressing in those disgusting Metallica shirts that make people want to puke. Skipping school and working at Wal-Mart. That old, sticky brown car that no one knows how you bought. Stealing and all your felonies, your addiction to books and how you read everywhere and anywhere. The fact that Luke had to drag you literally by your shirt so that you actually do your job. The way you can only eat your stupid ice cream in a cone and how you hate Coldplay, and poetry and your weird addiction to show up in the most inappropriate times." Rory took a deep breath. And another and another, then continued. "The way that everything you wear looks so damn good on you, even a black eye. The way you block out everything and never show people your emotions. The fact that you can actually read anything written by Hemmingway. How every time you see Dean you tense up and you want to kill him. Or the fact that...that all those thing make me love you even more and more." Rory said as she took a step forward, so that she and Jess were only a couple inches apart, yet not close enough to touch. "You are a horrible person you know." Rory said wiping away her tears. "But you are my horrible person." She added, the put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him passionately. Jess was surprised by her sudden change of heart, but didn't hesitate to respond to the kiss, and wrapped his arms around her waist. It was so fierce that they both forgot the whole conversation they had just had, and only remembered what they felt for eachother and how right this felt. She pulled away after the long kiss because of the lack of oxygen. "I love you so much you ass." Rory mumbled nuzzling her face into the croak of his neck. Jess pulled her closer to him so that her body was vertically pressed against him.

"You have no idea." He whispered back and rested his chin on top of her head. After the long comfortable silence, they both pulled apart and looked at eachother.

Rory looked down for a second, then looked up again. "I'm going to Europe for the whole summer."

"I know." He nodded.

"Then I have to go to Yale." Rory said, and then looked around, trying to avoid eye contact.

Lorelai, still hiding, overheard the whole thing. She took that as her unknown cue and walked into the hallway where Rory and Jess were. "Rory! I've been looking everywhere for you, you've been gone for a half—" Lorelai paused pretending not to have known Jess what there. "Jess?" She asked, looking at him wide-eyed.

"That's my name." He said sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"Jess." Rory warned. "Look mom, give me a minute I'll tell you everything later."

"Okay." Lorelai nodded and left without another word.

Jess looked at Rory and smirked. "Shut up." she ordered annoyed.

"I didn't say anything." He said innocently.

"Jess, I'm serious, I'm going to Yale remember?" She said going back to their previous conversation.

"Yeah. So what do we do?" He asked.

"Well…I'm home on weekends and for holidays."

"It's not to far, actually it's only—"

"22.8 miles." She continued. "Did I mention how much I love you when you surprise me with stuff like that."

"Not that I recall." He smirked. "S I could go see you anytime."

"Huh-huh." She shook her head. He gave her a skeptical look. "Your going back to Stars Hollow High."

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to graduate. And you're going to take me to _your_ prom."

"You're a natural comedian." Jess replied. When Rory gave him a withering stare, he knew she wasn't going to let him talk his way out of this. "Fine." He reluctantly agreed.

"Good."

"Yeah good." He mumbled.

"Will you be accompanying me to the airport tomorrow or will it only be Luke who will drive us?" Rory asked smiling widely.

"I'll see what I can do." Jess replied smirking. "But, I still haven't talked to Luke about the living arrangements."

"I'm sure a little Gilmore charm can change all that."

"Your probably right." Jess said walking up to her and taking her hand. He looked into her eyes seriousness planted all over is face. "This is so not like me…but…I'm sorry." Rory didn't reply, instead she just pulled her hand free and wrapped them around his neck. She looked at him intently in the eyes, and said;

"Kiss me or you will not be forgiven." Rory said smiling widely.

"Whatever you say." Jess said and kissed her.

**A/N: **Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. the characters may have been a little out of character, but I hope you enjoyed my lit anyways. Thanks for actually taking the time to read it. now please leave me some love…or hate. Whatever. Cyaz.

-Chrissy♥


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